Swivel



March 13, 1951 D. A. CHASE 2,544,655

SWIVEL Filed Aug. 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DWIGHT A. CHASE March 13, 1951 D. A. CHASE 2,544,555

SWIVEL Filed Aug. 3, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 DWIGHT A. GH ASE im @1111A Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITED SWIVEL Dwight A. Chase, United States Coast Guard Application August 3, 1945, serial No. 608,817 1 claim. (01.'59-35) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention relates to a method of producing a swivel and more particularly to the method of manufacturing a large swivel adapted for use in connecting buoys and the like rto their anchor chains.

Swivels of the kind here considered have heretofore been made by forging the parts from' wrought iron, a process requiring heavy machinery,forging dies, a skilled operator and a con siderable amount of time. As a result these forged swivels are relatively expensive and the machinery and dies required limit available facilities so that emergency production of large quantities of swivels is not readily effected. Moreover, these factors tend to restrict production of large swivels to a very few manufacturers in one section of the country.

It is accordingly the object of this invention to provide a method of economically producing swivels of superior performance characteristics.

It is s. further object of this invention to provide a method of constructing large swivels by fabrication from stock materials.

It is a further object 'of this invention to provide a method of fabricating a swivel loop link by welding together elements of simple form.

Other objects' of the invention will be more fully disclosed in the following specification and claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is an oblique view of the eye of the swivel as cut from metal plate.

Fig. 2 is an oblique view of the neck of the loop link.

Fig. 3 is an oblique view of the collar.

Fig. 4 is an oblique view of the loop of the swivel. l

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the eye of the swivel after a forming operation and showing the collar and neck mounted thereon.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the collar showing the notches in the inner face thereof.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the collar along the line 'I-l of Fig. 6.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are a side view, an end view and an elevation, respectively, of the loop link after the ends of the loop have been splayed.

Fig. 11 is an elevation of a subassembly of the swivel showing the shank of the eye bolt upended.

Fig. 12 is an elevation of the complete swivel showing the ends of the loop welded to the subassembly shown in Fig. 1l.

Figs. 13, 14 and 15 are oblique views of a modified form of the invention.

Referring more particularly to sheet I of the 2 drawings, Fig. 1 shows a blank I Il Afor the eye bolt cut from heavy steel plate, preferably with an acetylene torch, and comprising a shank Il integral with a ring I2 having a circular aperture I3 which may be either flame cut or drilled. The neck of the swivel I4, and the collar I6, Figs.

2 and 3 are both cut from round bar stock of appropriate diameters and are axially drilled to form central apertures I5 and Il, respectively. The loop I8, Fig. 4, is cut from a straight piece of bar stock of circular cross section-and then heated and bent into a U-shape in a bulldozer. It will be seen that all of the parts are cut from standard forms and the initial operations performed by means of ordinary shop tools andv equipment.

The blank Il! is heated and rounded in a press using special dies for' the purpose so that the ring I2 is transformed into a torus and the shank I I into an elongated cylinder, Fig. 5,- to form the eye bolt I9 of the swivel. The diameter of the shank il is smaller than the diameter of the aperture I5 of the neck i4 in which it loosely fits to permit relative rotation therebetween. The bore Il of* the collar I6 slidably ts on the shank I I with little play therebetween. One of the two parallel faces of the collar I6 is adapted to bear against the neck I4 while the other face is provided with grooved recesses 20, Fig. 6, which project a short distance into the inner wall of the collar forming aperture II for a purpose subsequently described.r The collar I6 may be heat treated or tempered to increase its wearing qualities.

The ends 2l and 22 of the loop I8 are spaced apart a distance equal to the diameter of the neck I4. These ends 2| and 22 are then heated and forged so that they are flattened ina direction tangent to the surface of the neck I4 which they are adapted to engage. The ends are splayed along a length thereof corresponding to the thickness of the neck as clearly shown in Fig. 8.

In assembling the swivel, the neck I4 and collar I6 are mounted on shank I I of the eye bolt, the collar having the notched face adjacent the end of the shank. The shank is then heated and upset with a die to form a rivet shaped head 23 thereon and to force the metal of the head 23 and shank II into the grooves 20 of the collar I6, Fig. 1l, thus uniting the collar to the eye bolt so that upon relative rotation of the bolt with respect to the loop link the bearing surface therebetween will be at the point of contact of the faces of the collar and neck. It will be seen ll from expanding and freezing in the bore l1 of the collar I4 during the upending process. The collar also provides a at bearing surface of relatively harder material than the rivet head 23 and is consequently better adapted to Withstand the Wear between the eye bolt and the collar when the swivel is in use.

The ends 2l and 22 of the loop i8' are then positioned on diametrically opposed sides of the neck I4 with the axes of the parallel portion of` the loop parallel to the axis of the neck I4, The ends of the loop are then welded to the neck around adjoining portions thereof as indicated by the Weld metal 24 and 25, Fig. 12. The ilattening of the ends of the loop permits a greater length of weld to be obtained With a corresponding increase in strength.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figs. 13 to 15, the elements comprising they swivel are cut from stock materials in much the same manner as previously described` for the manufacture of the swivel shown in Fig. 12. The neck 26 has two diametrically opposed grooves 21 and 28cut in the cylindrical wall 29 thereofV ina directionparallel to the axis of the cylinder. The grooves are. shown shallow and semielliptical in formythough it is to he understood that. grooves of other: configuration may be used. The U-shaped bar 30 has its ends 3| and 32 spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the grooves '21 and 28 and forged so .that they are approximately elliptical. in cross section along` a length thereof corresponding to the thickness of the neck 26. The shape of the grooves is designed to correspond withY that of the ends of the loop so that they seat therein.

The eyebolt 33 is inserted in the neck and shank thereof upsetas described in connectionwith the construction of the swivel shown in Fig. 12. The ends 3| and 32 of the U-shaped bar 30 are then fitted into the groovesY 21 and 28, respectively,.and the bar welded to the neck along the edges of the area of contact thereof as indicated by the weld metal 34 and 35,.Fig. 15.

It will be seen that. I have disclosed armethod peculiarly adapted to making large swivels from stock materials, using only ordinary shop tools and. requiring only a' moderate amount ofy mechanical skill in any of the steps involved, and

capable of being carried out in shops lackingthe heavy equipment necessary to forge swivels of large size.

While I have described the preferred form of my invention I do wish to limit myself to the precise details as shown but wish to avail myself of such variations and modications as may come within the scope of the appended claim.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or' therefor;

I claim:

Steps in a method of making a swivel comprising' forming an axially apertured neck, inserting the shank of an eye bolt through the aperture in the neck, forming a collar of an internal diameter to t on the shank and With recesses in the collar exposed at the internal surface and end surface thereof, placing the collar on the shank with the recessed end surface. of the collar facing toward the. end of the shank, upsetting the shank over the end of said collar and into saidrecesses of the collar to unite the collar tothe shank of the eye bolt, then bending a barinto a loop and tting its ends along opposite sides of said neck, and: Welding the ends of the bar to the opposite sides of the neck with the bent. bar in a plane with.- the axis of theaperture in the neck.

DWIGHT A. CHASE.

REFERENCES CITED Therollowingt references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,133,806 Lachman Mar. 30, 1915 1,423,244. Moore July 18, 1922 2,399,188 Janiszewski. Apr. 30, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTSv Number Country Date 131,540 Greatl Britain Aug. 28, 1919 

